Genjuro Kibagami
Genjuro Kibagami (牙神 幻十郎, Kibagami Genjūrō) -with Genjūrō meaning Mystic Tenth Son in Japanese- is a recurring character introduced in Samurai Shodown II and the official rival of Haohmaru. Genjuro's design is centered on the scar on his back. Despite popular belief, he has no relation with Iori Yagami. History He claims to have killed his family and at least a thousand other people. His mother was a prostitute and, due to her profession, he knows nothing about his father. Even so, he made a silent oath to look after his mother until his father came home. When he was fifteen, Genjuro killed a man who stayed in their home -due to his mother's pleas for protection from her client's drunken rage. While he turned to leave his home for good, she attacked Genjuro while cursing his existence and left the scar on his back. He killed her in retaliation. Orphaned, Nicotine Caffeine spotted him and took him under his tutelage along with Haohmaru in his home. Both students were close friends yet Genjuro's hunger for power worried Nicotine. To test his students, he tempted them to fight over the treasured sword, Fugudoku. They were tested by facing off with a group of other fighters. Genjuro, believing that "worthless" people don't deserve life, killed his opponents during the competition. He leaves Nicotine's place in disgust after this event. He swore to kill Haohmaru and Nicotine, spiteful for their idealistic beliefs on swordplay. He hates Haohmaru especially, because he resembles the man his mother was with when he killed them. He also was attracted to Shiki at one point, as she resembled his mother. His profession during his travels is a hitokiri or killer-for-hire, often accepting the more "dirty" jobs such as wiping out pirate brigades and bandit hideouts. His former clients include Sankuro Yorozu and Mizuki Rashojin. In Samurai Shodown 64-2, Genjuro gains the upper hand in his last duel with Haohmaru. Before he could deal the final blow, a boy stabs him in vengeance for his unnamed father. It's heavily implied that Genjuro dies from his wound and, as promised, an older Haohmaru toasts to his friend's honor. Similar to Ukyo, his death is believed to be retconned in the newer sequel. Here, Genjuro is attacked by two assassins; one he kills quickly and the other somehow survived. Before he makes the killing blow, the surviving assassin tells him that this was a test from a man named Golba and offers him to join his master. As he hesitates, the assassin blows himself up, which perks Genjuro's interest and begins his journey to find Golba. He is still alive in his ending and is on another job as usual. Personality Genjuro is a brutal warrior who only fights for the pleasure of killing. He likes to dominate over others and hates people who are weak. There are times when he occasionally feels regretful and shows mercy for his actions, though he often counteracts these instances with more acts of cruelty. He is often called a "demon" by his victims, usually moments before he slays them. Fighting Style Though they both trained underneath Nicotine, his fighting style greatly differs from Haohmaru in execution. All of his special moves are direct references to the Japanese card game, hanafuda. Depending on whether a move hits or misses, the move will temporarily project the images of a "winning" combo of cards and/or a "miss" based on the featured hanafuda set. His "pet" of sorts is an unnamed orange frog, a reference to the card, Yanagi ni Ono No Toufuu. His win poses from his first appearance made several heavy references to the deck; his later win poses tone down the references. Gallery Category:SNK Playmore Characters Category:Samurai Shodown Characters Category:Neo Geo Debut Category:All Characters